Kaffee und Kuchen: Petit Café
A place that specialises in one type of cake is always a good sign. Fresh, warm, gooey Blechkuchen - fruit filled tray cake with a crispy sweet batter topping. Served with whipped cream on mismatched retro plates. Nostalgia.
Apfel Blechkuchen & Kirsch Blechkuchen
Just look at that. Stunning. When we first got to the cafe we thought we were out of luck and that there was no cake left, but 5 minutes later trays of fresh cake emerged from the oven. So piping hot cake with lots of whipped cream on the side. The top goes crispy and then below is a little bit gooey and the bottom layer is very plain which perfectly contrasts the sweeter top. The apples were slightly undercooked but that didn’t matter because it was so fresh. The cherries were. fruity and bright and it was perfect.
We thought we’d discovered a hidden gem in Hamburg, turns out Petit Café is very well known for its Blechkuchen. It still feels cozy and hidden inside. The cafè opened in Eppendorf in 1982.
The coffee is not the highlight, in fact I would rather get a filter coffee here, because the cappuccino isn’t the best. That doesn’t matter though. Its the ritual of coffee and delicious cake that matters. And filter coffee feels more authentic. (The cappuccino was greatly improved by a dollop of whipped cream though.)
Raspberry Blechkuchen & Apfel Blechkuchen
Blechkuchen means “tray cake” and it is a very popular cake in Germany. Any cake in a tray can be called a Blechkuchen but often it is a plain cake dough topped with fresh seasonal fruit, with a streusel or buttery, sugary topping.
I peaked into the kitchen where I saw trays of cakes ready for the oven, with apples, berries and stone fruit visible. Each tray of cake has one type of fruit, and they usually only offer two types of the cake. Because the cake is warm, I think its better to ask for the cream to be on the side. They have a whipped cream machine which was cool, but you can also have the cake with vanilla ice cream which I have not tried.
I love that they choose to do one cake really well, and because they are making them and selling pieces continuously, its guaranteed to be fresh and warm and made with good quality fruit and butter. The cold cream and some strong coffee cutting through the richness of the cake = perfection. Plus the white table clothes on dark wooden furniture and floral slightly chipped porcelain round off the perfect afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen.
Cake (with whipped cream) + cappuccino €11
Hegestraße 29, 20249 Hamburg
https://petitcafe-hamburg.de/
